Nothing Like Before delves into the creation of the Clube da Esquina Album (Brazil, 1972). Considered by many music critics one of the best albums of all time, it presented to the world musicians like Milton Nascimento, Lô Borges, Toninho Horta, Beto Guedes and Wagner Tiso.
Vicente, a tax collector, is sent to a distant region to defy the dominion of Melo, a powerful landowner. When Melo's henchmen burn down the collector's office building, the government retaliates by deploying soldiers, overseen by Carvalho, a hard-headed judge. Carvalho orders the soldiers to invade Melo's land, which prompts the start of a full-blown war.